The Smiths: A Retrospective, 1982-1988

The Smiths A Retrospective: 1982-1988

Overview: The Smiths were an alternative-rock band that formed in Manchester, England in 1982. They only lasted five years but had a significant impact on the British independent music scene and the American college-rock movement. The Smiths released only four studio albums over their short career from 1984 to 1987. However, it was only months “after releasing their first album, [that] the Smiths issued the singles and rarities collection Hatful of Hollow, establishing” HH a “funny, annoying, and/or incredible thing about both the Smiths and Morrissey” WL – “a tradition of repackaging their material as many times and as quickly as possible.” HH This may not be entirely troublesome to Smiths fanatics, however, since “many people consider the Morrissey/Marr duo to be the last great songwriting team [hence] any release by the Smiths is indispensable” WL to “any die-hard fan of the Smiths.” WL Besides, “many of their finest songs were never issued on their studio albums” HH because “the Smiths treated singles as individual entities, not just ways to promote an album.” HH The Players Morrissey (vocals) Johnny Marr (guitar, et al) Andy Rourke (bass) Mike Joyce (drums, percussion) On the Web: Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Songs: The Smiths/Morrissey www.OfficialSmiths.co.uk (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards

Studio Albums

Compilations/Archives/Live Albums HH Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84, released 1984) R Rank (live, recorded 1986, released 1988) WL The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87, released 1987) LB Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87, released 1987) VB The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Spotify Playlist Here’s my Singles 1983-1987 playlist at Spotify for The Smiths. Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. Click for codes to charts.

The Smiths The Smiths

Released: February 20, 1984 Peak: 150 US, 2 UK, 65 CN, 77 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: college rock Rating: 3.930 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks: Reel Around the Fountain HH You’ve Got Everything Now HH Miserable Lie Pretty Girls Make Graves The Hand That Rocks the Cradle This Charming Man HH, VB Still Ill HH, R, VB Hand in Glove HH, LB, VB What Difference Does It Make? HH, VB I Don’t Owe You Anything Suffer Little Children About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Hatful of Hollow (archives) The Smiths

Recorded: 1983-84 Released: November 12, 1984 Peak: -- US, 7 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.13 US, 0.3 UK, 0.43 world (includes US + UK) Genre: college rock Rating: 4.414 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) William, It Was Really Nothing (2) What Difference Does It Make? * (3) These Things Take Time * (4) This Charming Man * (5) How Soon Is Now? (6) Handsome Devil * (7) Hand in Glove (8) Still Ill * (9) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (10) This Night Has Opened My Eyes * (11) You’ve Got Everything Now * (12) Accept Yourself * (13) Girl Afraid (14) Back to the Old House * (15) Reel Around the Fountain * (16) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want Total Running Time: 56:11 About the Album: This was an odd collection gathering some of the Smiths’ early singles and B-sides alongside BBC recordings (marked with an asterisk). The BBC recordings are of cuts that first appeared on The Smiths’ self-titled debut album. They “are nervy and raw – and they’re also not the selling point of the record.” HH Instead, this collection deservers celebration because it includes a fair share of “classics, including the sweet rush of William, It Was Really Nothing, and the sardonic Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, the tongue-in-cheek lament of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, the wistful Back to the Old House, [and] Girl Afraid.” HH “With such strong material forming the core of the album, it’s little wonder that Hatful of Hollow is as consistent as The Smiths and arguably captures the excitement surrounding the band even better.” HH

Meat Is Murder The Smiths

Released: February 11, 1985 Peak: 110 US, 11 UK, 40 CN, 58 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.10 US Genre: college rock Rating: 3.765 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: The Headmaster Ritual Rusholme Ruffians R I Want the One I Can’t Have What She Said R That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore WL, VB How Soon Is Now? HH, VB Nowhere Fast Well I Wonder Barbarism Begins at Home Meat Is Murder About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

The Queen Is Dead The Smiths

Released: June 28, 1986 Peak: 70 US, 2 UK, 29 CN, 30 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.85 US, 0.3 UK, 1.25 world (includes US and UK) Genre: college rock Rating: 4.638 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings)

Tracks: The Queen Is Dead/ Take Me Back to Dear Old Blightly (medley) R Frankly, Mr. Shankly I Know It’s Over R, VB Never Had No One Ever Cemetry Gates R Bigmouth Strikes Again R, WL, VB The Boy with the Thorn in His Side R, WL, VB Vicar in a Tutu R There Is a Light That Never Goes Out WL, VB Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others VB About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

Rank (live) The Smiths

Recorded: October 23, 1986 Released: September 5, 1988 Peak: 77 US, 2 UK, 82 CN, 33 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.10 UK Genre: college rock Rating: 3.793 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks: (1) The Queen Is Dead (2) Panic (3) Vicar in a Tutu (4) Ask (5) His Latest Flame / Rusholme Ruffians (Medley) (6) The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (7) Rubber Ring / What She Said (Medley) (8) Is It Really So Strange? (9) Cemetry Gates (10) London (11) I Know It’s Over (12) The Draize Train (13) Still Ill (14) Bigmouth Strikes Again About the Album: This live album was recorded during the supporting tour for The Queen Is Dead but wasn’t released until 1988 after the band broke up.

The World Won’t Listen (archives) The Smiths

Recorded: 1984-87 Released: February 23, 1987 Peak: -- US, 2 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: college rock Rating: 4.011 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Panic (2) Ask (3) London (4) Bigmouth Strikes Again (5) Shakespeare’s Sister (6) There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (7) Shoplifters of the World Unite (8) The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (9) Money Changes Everything (10) Asleep (11) Unloveable (12) Half a Person (13) Stretch Out and Wait (14) That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (15) Oscillate Wildly (16) You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby (17) Rubber Ring Total Running Time: 59:26 About the Album: In 1987, Rough Trade released this UK-only collection of singles (including those from the Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead albums) and B-sides. “Shakespeare’s Sister, Panic, Ask, [and] Shoplifters of the World Unite…are all definitive, as are “the sneering, bouncing pop of You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby” LB and “the elegiac Unloveable, Asleep, Stretch Out and Wait, and Half a Person.” LB

Louder Than Bombs (archives) The Smiths

Recorded: 1983-87 Released: March 30, 1987 Peak: 62 US, 38 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: college rock Rating: 4.552 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: (1) Is It Really So Strange? (2) Sheila Take a Bow (3) Shoplifters of the World Unite (4) Sweet and Tender Hooligan (5) Half a Person (6) London (7) Panic (8) Girl Afraid (9) Shakespeare’s Sister (10) William, It Was Really Nothing (11) You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby (12) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (13) Ask (14) Golden Lights (15) Oscillate Wildly (16) These Things Take Time (17) Rubber Ring (18) Back to the Old House (19) Hand in Glove (20) Stretch Out and Wait (21) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (22) This Night Has Opened My Eyes (23) Unloveable (24) Asleep Total Running Time: 72:44 About the Album: In 1987, neither Hatful of Hollow nor The World Won’t Listen were available in the U.S. American audiences were thus treated to this 24-track package which featured 13 cuts from Listen and 8 from Hollow. It “makes the record a little redundant for most Smiths fans.” LB However, it “boasts a wealth of brilliant material” LB and “mostly does a great service by tidying up the Hollow and Listen collections. By whittling out the songs on those collections that appeared on the Smiths’ studio albums, Bombs fits neatly beside the studio albums without overlap. The one exception is the presence of Hand in Glove, the band’s first single. This seems an odd choice since there were still three non-album cuts (Handsome Devil, Accept Yourself, and Money Changes Everything) from Hollow and Listen that weren’t transported over to Bombs. Bombs also adds “the bizarre travelogue of Is It Really So Strange?,” LB Sheila Take a Bow, and Sweet and Tender Hooligan, all of which rank with the Smiths’ best. In fact, in the opinion of the DMDB, Bombs showcases the best of the Smiths throughout their career, making it the ideal launch pad for beginners even more so than any of their official studio albums.

Strangeways, Here We Come The Smiths

Released: September 22, 1987 Peak: 55 US, 2 UK, 27 CN, 28 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.10 UK, 0.60 world (includes US and UK) Genre: college rock Rating: 4.024 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Tracks: A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish VB Death of a Disco Dancer Girlfriend in a Coma VB Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before VB Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me VB Unhappy Birthday Paint a Vulgar Picture Death at One’s Elbow I Won’t Share You About the Album: Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including awards and details about individual songs.

The Very Best of (compilation) The Smiths

Recorded: 1983-1987 Released: June 4, 2001 Peak: -- US, 30 UK Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK Genre: college rock Rating: 4.412 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Panic (2) The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (3) Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (4) Ask (5) Bigmouth Strikes Again (6) How Soon Is Now? (7) This Charming Man (8) What Difference Does It Make? (9) William, It Was Really Nothing (10) Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (11) Girlfriend in a Coma (12) Hand in Glove (13) There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (14) Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (15) That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (16) I Know It’s Over (17) Sheila Take a Bow (18) I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish (19) Still Ill (20) Shakespeare’s Sister (21) Shoplifters of the World Unite (22) Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (23) Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before Total Running Time: 78:34 About the Album: For a group that only released four studio albums, there are WAY too many compilations out there, including Best…I, Best…II, Singles, The Sound of the Smiths, AND the three B-side collections highlighted on this page. This is the one that makes the most sense and gathers the biggest and best for the casual fan.

Resources/References: HH All Music Guide review of Hatful of Hollow by Stephen Thomas Erlewine LB All Music Guide review of Louder Than Bombs by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WL All Music Guide review of The World Won’t Listen by Tim DiGravina Related DMDB Links: First posted 4/27/2008; last updated 9/20/2026.